OK, kiddo! Here are all the fantastically amazing posts tagged with Canadian Museum for Human Rights
Tory Leader Appointed CEO Of Human Rights Museum
Can I get a “whaaaa?!”
Stu Murray, the former leader of Manitoba’s Conservative Party, has been appointed as CEO of the upcoming Canadian Human Rights Museum.
Murray, incidentally, voted against the provincial Charter Compliance Act in 2002, which amended 55 acts to give gay common-law spouses equal rights to their straight counterparts in full compliance with Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Hmm… I kind of figured that would put him in the museum, just not really in this way.
The Human Rights Museum is a popular target for anti-gay groups, who launch organized lobby efforts to control its direction and content in order to exclude GLBT exhibits.
(A friendly hat tip in the direction of Mercedes Allen from AlbertaTrans for emailing me about this story.)
- Murray confirmed to be museum CEO [Winnipeg Free Press]
- Stu Murray joins Canadian Museum for Human Rights team [Winnipeg SUN]
Right-Wing Lobby Group Blasts Museum
Gwen Landolt of REAL Women of Canada, an anti-gay lobby group, has sent out an action alert about a proposed Human Rights Museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Human Rights Museum, which is still in its planning stages, has been somewhat of a sore spot for many social conservatives who oppose the inclusion of gay and women’s rights among the exhibits. When the museum was proposed, LifeSite called it a “Temple of Propaganda,” saying that its supporters have “made a monster of the word tolerance, [have] raped the word gay, and [have] beheaded the term human rights.” Extreme social conservatives have been quietly steaming ever since.
An interesting thing happened last week, though. The Conservative government tabled a bill that would make the Human Rights Museum a Crown corporation. While the government had already invested one hundred million dollars in the project, this bill will put the museum alongside such institutes as the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
Gwen Landolt is furious:
The Advisory Committee for the Museum, selected by the former Liberal government, consisted mainly of feminist, homosexual and regular Liberal stand-bys [...]
[The] museum, with its left-wing Advisory Board, would be used as a powerful tool to champion the Liberal government’s interpretation of human rights, such as abortion rights, feminism, homosexuality, etc. with only some legitimate exhibits sprinkled here and there to give the museum the appearance of legitimacy.
With the museum’s transition to a Crown corporation, and with the Conservative government’s continued support of the project, Gwen demands that as many people as possible “with a conservative perspective” use the government’s public consultation form to oppose gay rights exhibits, and instead promote exhibits that showcase the “selfless dedication” of “those defending the family and traditional marriage.”
A bizarre request, considering that nine consecutive court rulings and two federal House votes sided with supporters of equal marriage for gay couples.
Gwen’s crankiness aside, she has actually highlighted a unique opportunity to give some input into our Human Rights Museum. Why not take this opportunity and let the museum planners know what’s important to you when it comes to human rights?
Hat tip to JJ at Unrepentant Old Hippie, who actually subjects herself to Gwen’s mailing list in order to get the inside scoop.
- Ottawa introduces bill on human-rights museum [Globe and Mail]
Whaaa!? Vic Toews Supports Human Rights Museum
Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got eerie news!
First, the good news: Vic Toews, Justice Minister Extraordinare, has been given the ol’ steel-toewd boot from Harper’s cabinet! Toews, who stated that the 9 consecutive court rulings guaranteeing equal marriage were all mistakes, and who pledged to introduce legislation legalizing discrimination against gays, had his own wacky vision of Justice, and shall be dearly missed on this site. (Sigh. Now, unless Jack Layton suddenly turns homophobic, the only moustache I have left to draw is Bishop Fred Henry’s.)
Now, the eerie news: Some of you may have heard of the multi-million dollar Canadian Museum of Human Rights to be built in Winnipeg. The museum is supposed to feature an exhibit on gay rights, drawing the wrath of right-wing special interest groups. Lifesite, for example, called the museum a “powerful propaganda institute,” adding that its supporters have “made a monster of the word tolerance, [have] raped the word gay, and [have] beheaded the term human rights.” And the kicker: Vic Toews, as the new Treasury Board President, supports it!
Yep, you heard right. Toews will be meeting with the museum’s planners to discuss a $100 million government commitment, saying “[the museum] certainly is a priority that Manitobans want resolved and I want to see how I can meet our commitments.”
So, there you have it! Now, as long as the museum isn’t renamed to the Vic Toews Museum of Human Rights, it looks like I may actually have a reason to visit Manitoba!
- Cabinet shuffle taps Baird for contentious environment file [CBC News]
- Toews committed to human-rights museum [Winnipeg SUN]
- Canada’s $300 Million Temple of Ideology [Lifesite]
